Filter by Country

Grand Challenges is a family of initiatives fostering innovation to solve key global health and development problems. Each initiative is an experiment in the use of challenges to focus innovation on making an impact. Individual challenges address some of the same problems, but from differing perspectives.

To increase demand for and access to quality maternal and neonatal services for women living in hard to reach areas of Senegal, Africare is proposing to develop an innovative model that integrates community based support services (Maternal Care Support Groups/MCSG) with mobile and telemedicine platforms. This innovative technology platform, combined with community services, will bring prenatal care services closer to 303,920 women in rural Senegal, allowing for early detection of potential problems and their quick referral to centers equipped to manage emergency obstetric care. The MCSGs will be used to deter the cultural practice of hiding pregnancy status till late in the second semester and reduce delays in seeking prenatal care.

Patricia HibberdMassachusetts General HospitalBoston, Massachusetts, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

30 Sep 2014

Our objective is to develop a low-cost Smartphone attachment and application to diagnose and treat bacterial neonatal pneumonia in Pakistan. Currently, serious bacterial infection - pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis - results in preventable deaths of 700,000 neonates every year, 99% dying in resource limited settings such as Pakistan. Signs of serious infection in young babies are difficult to recognize. Diagnostic tests and chest X-rays are rarely available outside tertiary care hospitals. The proposed device has the potential to identify and treat bacterial pneumonia quickly and decrease mortality. Our technology is an attachment that snaps on to a Smartphone and acquires, then displays a thermal image of a neonate's lungs. An application (app) will calculate the chance a neonate has bacterial pneumonia, based on the presence of "hot spots" or temperature differences which represent the increased blood flow/inflammation that occurs with bacterial pneumonia. The app will produce a read-out recommending treatment with antibiotics if the thermal image is consistent with bacterial pneumonia. The attachment and app will work with most Smartphones that are increasingly available globally and will be powered by the Smartphone's battery. It will take minutes to acquire and process the images. No specialized equipment or technical expertise by the user will be needed. The device is non-invasive, low risk, easy to use and incurs a one-time (not per test) expense which is minimal compared to X-rays.

We propose to optimize and pilot-test a finger-stick based rapid syphilis point-of-care test, featuring a novel IgM antibody test (developed by Burnet Institute) that offers specificity for active infection, in combination with a total antibody test (developed by Omega Diagnostics) that offers optimal sensitivity, in one single test-strip. This test will be optimized against "gold standard" reference tests, using approximately 60 plasma samples representing active syphilis, past syphilis and healthy controls.

Patrick BeattieDiagnostics For AllCambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2014

Diagnostics For All is developing a nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) platform that can perform sample preparation, amplification, and detection in a disposable, self-contained, cartridge without any additional instrumentation. We propose adapting this platform to deliver a qualitative HIV early infant diagnosis (EID) test that can truly be used at the point-of-care, reducing the turnaround time from over a month to under an hour. Since it can be performed before the mother and child leave the clinic, the proposed technology can result in immediate initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and eliminate loss to follow-up. Through this 2-year seed grant, we will produce a completely equipment-free, fully-integrated device that can receive and process a whole blood sample, perform isothermal amplification, and provide visual result readout with a clinically appropriate sensitivity for HIV EID.

The Bili-Hut is a novel phototherapy device designed to improve access to jaundice treatment in low resource areas. It is extremely light-weight, portable, and capable of prolonged operation with a battery. The working prototype complies with recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics for high intensity phototherapy, delivering treatment in the optimal therapeutic light bandwidth equivalent or superior to existing commercial devices. Most initiatives to improve access to neonatal phototherapy center on equipment donation or designing cheaper devices for urban hospitals that have electricity. The Bili-Hut will meet the specific needs of the previously unreachable, low resource areas without reliable electricity that have the highest mortality from jaundice.

Monash is seeking to develop an affordable heat-stable, self-contained, simple to administer inhaled delivery system for oxytocin. Such a product removes the challenges associated with access and use of the current oxytocin product and has the potential to ensure that a high-quality oxytocin product is accessible to women with greatest need. The project is innovative as it would, for the first time, provide an effective oxytocin product that does not rely on cold chain supply and storage to maintain quality or the presence of healthcare workers trained to safely administer injections. Current uterotonic products are presented either as injections susceptible to degradation in ambient conditions or, in the case of misoprostol tablets, do not provide the level of efficacy possible with oxytocin. The proposed inhaled oxytocin product presents the potential of delivering the gold standard therapy in a robust form that simplifies administration at a cost equivalent to current products. As such, this innovative product has the potential to significantly expand access to oxytocin across low- and middle-income countries by creating efficiencies within busy facilities, administration to lower tier healthcare workers and birth attendants.

Sara WatsonProgram for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH)Seattle, Washington, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Oct 2014

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is the standard of care for treatment of neonatal respiratory distress, but the availability of CPAP devices is limited by cost and facility infrastructure such as electricity and pressurized air. The bubble CPAP (bCPAP) kit and oxygen blender address the lack of electricity and pressurized air, common in rural health clinics, and have been demonstrated to provide a stable supply of blended gas. Our proposed work will further address this gap by collaborating with local distributors of hospital supplies to sell inexpensive, preassembled kits to hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies.

Our idea is to develop BreathAlert, a $25 battery-powered monitor that detects and automatically corrects apnea. BreathAlert is a stretchy band placed around a baby's chest to detect if breathing has stopped; if apnea occurs, coin-sized vibrating motors in the strap are activated and the vibration automatically stimulates the baby to resume breathing.

Diana LebronBecton, Dickinson and CompanyResearch Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States

Grand Challenges for Development

Saving Lives at Birth

1 Nov 2014

This project aims to develop an early stage detection of preeclampsia that will be based on the Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Homogenous No-Wash (HNW) platform enabling detection of clinically validated biomarkers without pre-processing or washing from a complex sample in a point-of-care setting. Clinical performance will be assessed using non-invasive urine specimens and optimized assay algorithms to improve specificity for interventions recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). SERS HNW is an innovative multiplex, low-cost, point-of-care SERS HNW test for prediction of preeclampsia risk. Most of the WHO ASSURED criteria are met using the Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Homogenous No-Wash (HNW) platform. SERS HNW provides ELISA-like analytical sensitivity, is low-cost (< $1.00 per test), semi-quantitative, requires minimal training, and has the ability to multiplex pathophysiological biomarkers. Multiplex capabilities in the platform provide the potential to detect maternal/antenatal disease beyond preeclampsia.

Contact us

Contact us

Footer - Receive Updates

Receive updates

Footer

PLEASE REVIEW OUR UPDATED PRIVACY & COOKIES NOTICE

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to store information on your computer or device. By
continuing to use this site, you agree to the placement of these cookies and similar technologies. Read our
updated
Privacy & Cookies Notice to learn more.